Meet the midwifery panel
Our midwifery panel plays a hugely important role in giving us the straight-talking, high-level advice we need to make decisions that affect midwives and mothers right across the UK.
Established in November 2015, the panel meets four times a year and their discussions, debates and decisions are reported to our Council.
All of this work means that the voice of midwifery has a direct impact on the decisions we make.
Read the Midwifery Panel terms of reference to find out more about their purpose.
Previous meetings
- 25 June 2019 - Download summary
- 21 February 2019 - Download summary and minutes
- 22 October 2018 - Download summary and minutes.
Meet the members of the panel
The panel is made up of the Chief Nursing Officers from the four countries of the UK, representatives from our Council, the Royal College of Midwives and other leading midwifery figures.
Dr Anna van der Gaag CBE - Midwifery Panel Chair
Professor Charlotte McArdle - Chief Nursing Officer for Northern Ireland
Professor Ann Holmes - Chief Midwifery Advisor and Associate Chief Nursing Officer for the Scottish Government
Professor Jean White CBE - Chief Nursing Officer for Wales
Dr Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE - Chief Midwifery Officer, NHS England
Gill Walton - Chief Executive, Royal College of Midwives
Donna Ockenden - Senior Midwifery Adviser, NMC
Professor Mary Renfrew FRSE - University of Dundee
Cath Broderick - Lay member
Professor Janice Sigsworth - Director of Nursing at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Lord Willis of Knaresborough - Member of the House of Lords
Leigh Kendall FRSA - Maternity campaigner and communications expert
Logan Van Lessen RN, RM, BSc, MSc - Consultant Midwife (Public Health)
Nicky Clark - Chair of Lead Midwife for Education Strategic Reference Group
Sascha Wells-Munro - Maternity Improvement Advisor, NHS Improvement
Karen Jewell - Nursing Officer for Maternity and Early Years, Office of the CNO Wales
Jacqui Williams MA, BSc(Hons), RM ADM, Dip AppSS - Senior Midwifery Education Advisor, Nursing and Midwifery Council
Verena Wallace MBE - Senior Midwifery Adviser (Policy), Nursing and Midwifery Council
Maxine Spencer - Director of Midwifery, St Thomas' Hospital
Professor Gwendolen Bradshaw - Emeritus Professor, University of Bradford
Dr Janet Hirst - Head of the School of Healthcare, University of Leeds